Aam Panna

If the temperatures we saw in March were anything to go by, it's going to be a long hot summer. I'm already dreading May and making all plans to avoid it.

All kind of thirst quenchers are already out and keeping me company as I try to keep the heat away.
Indian kitchen has its own recipes of traditional drinks and the aam panna remains a household favorite. Made by using green mangoes the panna is a great solution for heat exhaustion. The green mangoes are a rich source of pectin, citric and other acids apart from being a great source of Vitamin B1, B2 and C, which prevent loss of sodium chloride and other essential body fluids. It has also been found to be great in treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders. So go ahead make yourself some aam panna and raise a toast to keeping the heat wave away.

Aam Panna

Ingredients:

Green Mangoes - 7
Sugar - 4 Tblsp
Black Salt - 1 Tsp
Cumin, roasted and powdered - 1.5 Tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Mint Leaves, chopped - 3 Tblsp
Water - 5 Cups

Method:
1. Place the mangoes in a pan of water (enough to cover them) and put on a flame.
2. Cook to bring them to a boil. Simmer for 10 more minutes and then remove and drain water.
3. Stone and pulp the mangoes.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the pulp and whisk well to mix.
5. Adjust seasoning and transfer to a jug.
6. Serve chilled with ice.

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Of Punches and Cups

Over the last few weeks I have surrendered to the fact that I am not going to get any time for pursuing anything due to my hectic schedules. Golf has suffered (haven't played for 4 weeks now), this blog has suffered (my posts have gone down) and so has my appetite for watching movies (Can you believe I still haven't seen the new Batman flick).
Therefore this resolve to fight it out and take out time to do what I enjoy doing the most ...I'll play a round of golf this weekend, make up for my posts by cooking 4-5 dishes over the weekend while I'm at home and see atleast 2 movies.
The highlight though has been the Olympics. I loved the Gold the Abhinav got and the out of the blue bronze in wrestling. But the star for me personally have been the three Pugilists who have really paved the way to make it an upcoming sport in India. Strangely did anyone notice that all the medals that we picked up were in Individual disciplines ( now is teamwork disappearing) and also in Sports that can be associated with violence ( Shooting, Wrestling, Boxing). I loved watching Akhil and Vijinder box their way to the hearts of so many Indians. They really packed a punch or two in their bouts.

Now talking about punches of the gastronomical kind - the punch is a term used loosely for mixed drinks that contain lot of fruit juice and traditionally served in Punch Bowls. Interestingly, the punch has an indian connection as the word is supposedly a derivation of the word Panj meaning Five. In olden days, the panj was an arrack based drink made with 5 ingredients and found its way to the English shores through the British East India Company and then gradually to the rest of Europe. Other stories abound about it being a derivation from the Puncheon which was a cask from which the punch bowl was made. Rum is the most popular base for Punches, though you have punches made with Brandy and wine too.

Cups though are a type of Punch are generally lower in alcohol as compared to the regular punch. The Pimms Cup is the most popular of cups. The Pimms No. 1 which is required to make the Pimms cup is a gin based beverage made with dry gin, spices, liqueur and fruit juices. It is named so because it was created by James Pimm, an English Bar Owner. it became so famous that he started mass producing it in bottles. It is supposed to be a secret recipe and has a low alcohol content. Talking of Pimms, though you have Pimms No. 1 easily available, try the Pimms No. 3 (Now available as a winter version seasonally). I love the Pimms No. 3 and find it amazing during the cold winter season. The winter version is brandy based and infused with spices and orange peel. The Pimms Cup is the traditional drink of Wimbledon. The recipe for Pimms Cup is as follows:

Pimms Cup

Ingredients:
60 ml Pimms No. 1 Cup
180 ml Ginger Ale
60 ml Lemon soda
1 Cucumber Spear

Method:
1. Add ice in a hi-ball glass.
2. Add Pimms No. 1, then Ginger ale and finally soda.
3. Stir well and garnish with the cucumber spear.
4. Serve.

if you do not have lemon soda. Just squeeze juice of 1 lemon into the glass. You can also use 7-up instead. Both will do.

Other Pimms products besides the popular No. 1 are as follows:

Pimms No. 1 Cup- Gin based
Pimms No. 2 Cup- Whisky Based
Pimms No. 3 Cup - Brandy Based
Pimms No. 4 Cup - Rum Based
Pimms No. 5 Cup - Rye Based
Pimms No .6 Cup - Vodka Based

No.2, 4 & 5 have been phased out. No. 3 is phased out but sold as Winter edition with certain more additions. No. 6 is available in limited quantities.

Coming to Punches, the Planter's Punch is a common summer drink made with Rum. Though there are other punches that exist, Planter's punch has been extremely popular. There is infact a rhyme as to how it is made. It goes like this,

This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat,
Take two sour of lime,
To one and half of sweet,
Of Old jamaica pour three strong
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong -
I know whereof I speak.

It has also been declared the 'King of rum drinks' .
My recipe is a little different from the rest, in both the way the ingredients have been used and the way it has been built ( floating rum instead of mixing it).

Planter's Punch

Ingredients :
Dark Rum - 60 Ml
Orange Juice - 60 Ml
Pineapple Juice - 60 Ml
Lemon Juice - 15 ml
Grenadine - 1 Tsp

Method:
1. Combine the juices in a shaker with ice and shake well.
2. Strain in a tall chilled glass.
3. Sink grenadine. Just pour it in and it will sink down to the bottom.
4. Using a spoon, float the rum on top.
5. garnish with a cherry or an orange slice and serve.

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Pinacolada

I had gone to a resort a short drive away from the city a few weeks back for a business meeting and after the hectic day a few of us decided to stay back and have a few drinks before we headed back home. It was a nice pleasant evening, perfect for a few cocktails and while browsing through the Beverage Menu card I glanced up a few traditional cocktails. We hardly get the see too many of them these days with everybody trying to do a one up on the 0ther with having their own in-house developed specialties.
My earliest memories of the Pinacolada take me to my college days when on the new years eve of 1995, I decided to go to a private jazz party at a club near Flora Fountain organised by a few close friends. I was introduced to the Pinacolada there. I loved the drink and the proof of that lies in the fact that by the time we wrapped up I had finished 9 of those lovely cocktails.
The drink which is the official beverage of Puerto Rico is the spanish translation meaning Strained Pineapple ( Pina - Pineapple, Colada - Strained).

Pinacolada

Ingredients:
White Rum - 45 Ml
Pineapple Juice - 120 Ml
Coconut Cream - 60 Ml
Crushed Ice - 1 Cup

Garnish - Cherry & Pineapple Slice

Method:
1. Pour all the ingredients (including the crushed ice) into a blending jar and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into a tall glass. ( The more unusual the glass the better)
3. Garnish with Cherry and Pineapple slice. ( Also decorate your glass with straw, swizzle stick and drink umbrella ...looks good)
4. Serve chilled ...Cheers !!!

Variations :
As with most cocktails, this one too has its variations.

Chi-Chi : Substitute the Rum with Vodka

Staten Island Ferry : Malibu Rum and Pineapple Juice.

Miami Vice : Strawberry Daiquiri and Pinacolada blended together.

Amaretto Colada - Substitute White Rum with Amaretto.

Berry Colada - Substitute Pineppale Juice with any berry juice.

Pinata Colada ( Or Virgin Pinacolada) : No prizes for guessing ....no White Rum!

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Screwdriver - What's a nice evening without it ?

Cocktails I must say are a dying breed. As in how many times do we actually go out and get ourselves a cocktail unless we are feeling plush or sitting in one plush place. These are the days of simple drinks either had straight up or with common mixers. Screwdrivers are another story though. We mostly end up having them, without even knowing it's a very popular cocktail called screwdriver. Why? 'cause it's simple to make and just has 2 ingredients. Vodka and Orange Juice.

My own stag parties echo the above mentioned sentiment. I'm usually found begging people to try out some cocktails. Can't help it. Have been in love since I made my first one. Infact I first made a mocktail...which is a cocktail without the alcohol in it :). There was no looking back thereon. I bartended my way through college. It was good money and you saw all the who's who. It wasn't such a glam profession to have then, else might have just continued with it. Interestingly, even after I became a management trainee with the one of the top 3 in India, I earned less than what I made bartending and I worked 6 days to get paid in the company.
Last weekend though was different. Sri J had put down his papers and was finally moving back to B'Lore. Naturally for being a great guy to have as a part of your team and making his life miserable right through, it was but natural to have his sending off at my place. With a great stock of spirits, mixers and a great crowd, cocktails had to be the norm. My crystal collection though was locked up after the glass breaking incident the last time we all got together. Sri J had been the culprit though he still maintains he didn;t do it (Sri J, I told you I'll post this). It was a wild party that only got over at the Kakatiya Sheraton in the morning, with some having the breakfast and the rest feasting on the yum! Chocolate mousse.
Getting back to screwdrivers, It got its name allegedly in the 1950's for oil riggers in mid-east who couldn't find stirrers, so they used their screwdrivers to stir this drink. Some also say it is named so because of the screw (orange juice) and the driver (Vodka). Ideally the next time you feel like having a drink, fix yourself a nice cocktail and figure out the story behind it. Screwdrivers have a whole varied variations to it, from mocktail ones to the very potent ones. Here's a list of them. There are some personal variations too. If you have any, feel free to lemme know and I'll fix myself one of those.

The Original Screwdriver

Glass - HighBall


Ingredients -
Vodka - 60 ml
Fresh Orange Juice - 150 ml

Garnish - Slice of Orange

Method-
1. In a chilled HighBall glass, pour vodka and orange juice over ice.
2. Garnish with slice of Orange. Cheers !

Kentucky Screw Driver

Substitute the Vodka with Bourbon. Also goes by the name of Black-Eyed Susan and Yellow Jacket.

DriveScrewer

Vodka - 1 Part
Orange Juice - 2 Parts

Mix the same way as the screwdriver.

Harvey Wallbanger

Glass - Collins

Ingredients-

Vodka - 30 ml
Orange Juice - 120 ml
Galliano (Herbal Liqueur) - 15 ml

Method-
1. Pour Vodka and Orange Juice into a collins glass over ice cubes and stir.
2. Float Galliano on top with a spoon. Serve.


Variations of the harvey wallbanger exist. If you replace Vodka with Tequila, it becomes a Freddy Fudpucker. If you double the quantity of orange juice, quadruple the quantity of Vodka and triple the quantity of Galliano and serve in a beer mug, its called a Harvey Wall Climber. If you replace Orange juice with Milk, it will be called Harvey CowPuncher (I personally will never try that).

Southern Screw

Substitute Vodka with Southern Comfort in the original Screwdriver.


Slow (Sloe) Comfortable Screw

Substitute the vodka with Sloe Gin in the original screwdriver.

Hi-Fi
Replace the Orange Juice with orange soda ( say Fanta).

Fuzzy Cosmonaut
Substitute Orange Juice with Tang in the original screwdriver.

Sonic Screwdriver
Replace Orange Juice with Blue Gatorade in the original screwdriver.

It's also called Vaderade.

Cordless Screwdriver

Glass - Shot Glass

Ingredients -
Chilled vodka - 30 ml
Cut an orange wedge and coat with superfine sugar. Keep aside.


Method -
1. Pour Vodka into the shot glass.
2. Drink the vodka in one shot.
3. Bite into the sugar coated orange wedge.

Very Screwy Driver

Glass - Collins

Ingredients -
Vodka - 30 ml
White Rum - 15 ml
Tequila - 15 ml
Gin - 15 ml
Orange Juice - 150 ml

Method-
1. Pour all ingredients over ice in a collins glass.
2. Serve (Hic!)

Screwless Driver (Finally a non-alcoholic one)

Glass - Highball
Ingredients -

Ginger Ale - 45 ml
Orange Juice - 150 ml

Method-
1. Mix over ice in a highball and serve.

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A Berry Healthy Breakfast Smoothie

After a very long time, I post something potable on this blog. My weekdays have again become the gruelling battles to attain metrics. Exercising with this schedule becomes a distant reality and a round of golf a weekend luxury, something sacrificed to rest the overworked body. Atleast we can eat healthy. Since, Lunch and Dinners are an indulgence for me, Breakfast are where I like to make up for all this. Maybe too little at this stage, but a start is a start.

Smoothies first hit the US market in the 1960's with the advent of the health industry and vegetarianism. But the smoothies of that time differ from the smoothies of today in terms of the fact that the old days smoothies contained only Fruit Juice, fruits & ice. Today's versions have milk ice or frozen yogurt added to them.

Incase you want to dig in more into the history of the smoothie or how they have evolved over the years read this or my favorite wikipedia thread.

This also happens to be my entry to Mansi's WBB Balanced Breakfast event. it is the 20th edition of the WBB ( which stands for Weekend Breakfast Blogger's ), so I didn't want to miss out on it, plus I had given a commitment to Mansi that I would surely send in a contribution (Srivalli, yours is in the works) ...read more on WBB Balanced Breakfasts on Mansi's blog .

Ingredients:

2 Cups Strawberries
1 Cup Plain Yogurt
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tblsp Honey

Method:
1. Wash and cut strawberry tops .
2. Put all ingredients in a blender.
3. Blend & drink to your health. (Garnish with a sliced Strawberry)

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